Two of his officers are now on paid administrative leave after the death of James Boyd, who Eden said was armed with knives and threatened to kill officers.

Eden said because of the investigation, he isn’t allowed to speak with the officers involved.

The case is not yet complete.

He said a Crisis Intervention Team officer was deployed to the scene. That was requested by the first responding officers, after Eden said Boyd pulled a knife on officers and threatened to kill.

Eden said Boyd wasn’t compliant during the standoff. An officer deployed a flash-bang grenade when Boyd said he wanted to walk down the hill.

The story has become a national one, and public outrage from the shooting took the form of a rally Tuesday in Albuquerque.

Eden said he knows there is outrage.

“I would encourage (my officers) to hold their chins high and to keep doing a great job,” he said. “I think one of the things that the citizens of all communities need to recognize is that when they call 911, is we send highly skilled police officers to answer those calls.”

In terms of the rally, he said he respects people’s freedom of speech.

“I honor and respect the fact that they are going to do this, thank God we live in a country and in a state and in a city where you're able to do that,” he said.

He didn’t want to comment on the fact that APD T-shirts were being made that read “Another Person Dead.”

“We are a nation built on free speech,” he said.

Eden said the shooting investigation is about 60 percent complete. The district attorney will have the final say on whether the shooting was justified. He said the department is working every day to earn the public’s trust.